Most people feel their view of the night sky is spoiled by artificial light, a survey suggests.The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is calling for more control on the likes of street lighting and neon signs to cut down on the problem.Its survey of 1,745 people in the UK conducted with the British Astronomical Association found 83% of people have been affected.Read more

The San Francisco Amateur Astronomy club is one of the groups concerned about plans for Beach Chalet soccer fields, which call for installing artificial turf and upgrading the lighting system. Unless altered, the lights are likely to get in the way of stargazing, San Francisco Amateur Astronomer President David Frey said. He said the organisation meets at least once a month at Lands End, less than a mile from the proposed lighting.

Work has started to replace all Surrey's 89,000 streetlights with environmental "smart lamps" in the biggest project of its kind ever seen in Britain.Read more

Street light replacement programme

In the first five years of the 25-year contract all of the countys 89,000 lights will be upgraded.70,000 will have both the column and the lantern replaced.19,000 will have just the lantern replaced. This is because the column will have been replaced recently, generally as a result of traffic accidents or local improvement works.Read more

As Harwich's population has grown, so have its subdivisions, street networks, stores and shopping plazas. With these changes have come widespread outdoor lights, illuminating everything from intersections to flagpoles to car dealerships and churches.A handful of interested parties have raised the concern that many of these outdoor lights point skyward and are causing a collective glow, effectively blocking out what used to be an unobstructed view of the stars and planets. Read more

The International Dark-Sky Association works to preserve and protect the nighttime environment from light pollution thrown up into the sky by cities and towns.During the night, even when the moon isn't full, the fuzzy haze city lights create can easily shield numerous stars and other celestial wonders from a person's unaided view. A dark, clear night spent away from light-polluted city skies, on the other hand, can often reveal up to 3,000 stars to the naked eye - and thousands more with a good pair of binoculars or a mounted telescope.Read more

Light pollution is a growing problem and it's not just astronomers who are suffering. Neil Hudson spoke to those campaigning to win back the night and introduce LED street lights in LeedsAncient mariners sailing distant seas swore by them. Long dead civilisations made dire predictions based on their movements, constructed megalithic monuments to mark their passage and wrote great myths about them.The stars in the firmament have been an inspiration and source of wonder for mankind since the beginning of time but if you live in a city, it's odds on the only stars you'll be seeing regularly are the kind featured in celebrity magazines.Read more

A pub in Gloucester has been given an award for helping to reduce light pollution.The Pike and Musket in Tuffley has been handed a Good Lighting award after they turned off their high-powered search lights that had been pointing directly into the night sky each evening.

Business owners are pressing the Town Board to allow internally lit, solar-powered directional signs that would help drivers navigate to entrances, driveways and parking lots.FALA Technologies President Frank Falatyn gave a presentation during Thursdays board meeting that showed signs designed to have a lower illumination than externally lit signs factor and be energy-efficient.Read more